The Ukrainian accord signed last Thursday by the U.S., Russia, Ukraine and the European Union unraveled quickly today as violence broke out between Ukrainian forces and the Russian speaking separatists. Not many gave much hope to the agreement since the Ukrainian separatists were not included in the accord, and it is not clear that they are united or centrally controlled. The Republican Party in the US is pushing for stiffer sanctions on Russia, but the Russians have already reduced their growth forecast for the year to zero. We shall wait to see if President Putin uses the outbreak of violence as a reason to send Russian troops into Ukraine.
In a very dramatic move, the Palestinian Authority warned that if the current negotiations with Israel remain stalemated, it could disband and ask either the UN or Israel to run the Occupied West Bank. It is unlikely that the US would allow the UN to run the occupation, so, if the threat is carried out, Israel would have to take control of the day-to-day running of the territory, including providing security, basic infrastructural needs, and other duties now maintained by the PA. The move would put Israel in the very uncomfortable position of clearly being an Occupying Power. The threat comes as hostilities continue to escalate over the al-Aqsa Mosque, as some members of Israel are trying to assert their religious rights on the Temple Mount.
Turkey has been considering accession to the European Union for a number of years–it is an on-again, off-again process depending on a number of different factors. The European Union, however, has most recently been critical of the administration of Prime Minister Erdogan and, for the first time, has questioned Turkey’s commitment to liberal values which are at the core of the Union. The assessment is significant, and indicative of a growing global sense that liberal values are losing hold in many polities.
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